Stereo Waltz
by twstofate
Summary: A/U. Trish and Stacy's parents have died and they find themselves living with the McMahons. Will Stacy's treatment of Trish change or will Trish always live in Stacy's shadow?
1. Default Chapter

*** A/N: Typical disclaimer, I don't own the WWE or their characters, I haven't met any of the people and this is all fictional.  
  
A/N 2: This is an alternate universe. I'm going to mess up ages for the purposes of the story, there will be no actual years (i.e. 2002) indicated, and I haven't decided if wrestling will actually be involved or not yet. In this first part, Trish and Stephanie are 10 years old, Shane is 16, and Stacy is 13.  
  
Enjoy!!! ***  
  
*  
  
"We could just find a relative who would be willing to take her," Ric Flair offered, looking out at the two young girls sitting in the next room.  
  
"No," Linda McMahon said. "If we're going to take Stacy, then we're taking Trish too."  
  
"I can't take care of two little girls," Flair said. "I don't care who their father was."  
  
"You don't have to," Vince McMahon finally said from his leather wing chair. "I was closer to Hogan anyways. I'll take care of the girls."  
  
"You have two children of your own," Flair protested.  
  
"Shane's in high school," Vince said. "He's not going to interfere with the girls' lives. And Stephanie would love to have two more people around to play with."  
  
"You're going to stand for this?" Flair asked, looking over at Linda.  
  
Linda looked over at her husband and saw the determination in his eyes. "Yes, yes I am."  
  
*  
  
"They don't want you," Stacy whispered to her sister. "They want me."  
  
Trish looked away. She was used to her sister always feeling loved and special. The only person who had ever loved her in her ten years had been her father. Now he was gone. She looked out of the window to look at the vast grounds of the McMahon estate, where she and her sister had stayed since her father had died in an accident.  
  
"Why don't you say anything Trish?" Stacy asked, poking her younger sister in the ribs, none too gently. It angered her that she hadn't been able to get a rise out of her sister since their parents had died in a car accident.  
  
"Please leave me alone," Trish whispered. She didn't want to turn her head to look at her sister because she knew very well that Stacy would torture her for the tears in her eyes.  
  
"I'm just worried about you sweetie," Stacy said, suddenly rubbing Trish's back in a manner that was supposed to seem soothing. Trish knew then that someone was coming to the room.  
  
"That's great to see," Vince said, coming to stand next to the two sisters. "How would you two like to come live with me and my family?"  
  
"Mr. McMahon," Stacy asked in mock shock. Stacy was only thirteen, but she had all of the acting abilities of a movie actress. "You'd really do that for us?"  
  
"Of course," Vince said. "Your father really meant a lot to me, even though we didn't exactly get along near the end of his life."  
  
"That would be wonderful," Stacy whispered, tears filling her eyes. Trish wanted to shake her head in disgust. There was nothing genuine about Stacy's display, but only Trish knew that.  
  
"Trish?" Linda asked. "Would you like to live with us?"  
  
"Really?" Trish asked, genuinely shocked.  
  
"You don't think we'd tear you away from the only family you have left do you?" Linda asked. Trish was surprised at the warmth in Linda's eyes.  
  
"Thank you," Trish said, not noticing the tears that filled her own eyes. Linda smiled benevolently at the girl and walked to the foyer of her house to bid Flair good-bye.  
  
"You're so lucky they like me," Stacy hissed at Trish. "They never would have let you stay if they hadn't have adored me."  
  
"What kind of way is that to talk to your sister?" a reprimanding voice asked. Both of the girls' head turned in shock to see Shane McMahon, the sixteen year-old heir to the McMahon legacy.  
  
"Shane," Stacy said. "I was just teasing her."  
  
"It wasn't very nice," Shane said. He took Trish's hand and helped her from her seat and took her to the TV room. "Steph and I are going to watch movies. You can watch with us if you want."  
  
"You and your sister do stuff together?" Trish asked.  
  
"Yeah," Shane said. "We're close."  
  
"Hey Shaners," Stephanie said as she bounded into the TV room. "Hey Trish. You going to watch with us?"  
  
"I guess so," Trish said. "If you don't mind."  
  
"Why would I mind?" Stephanie asked. She threw herself on one of the comfortable couches and patted the seat next to her for Trish to sit on it.  
  
"Trish and Stacy are going to live with us from now on," Shane commented.  
  
"Really?" Stephanie asked, turning to Trish.  
  
"Yeah," Trish said, looking down at her lap. "I hope you don't mind."  
  
"Of course I don't," Stephanie said, flinging an arm around Trish's shoulders. "You're sister is a little bit spoiled, but you're a very nice person."  
  
"Thanks," Trish said, blushing in embarrassment. "You're really nice too."  
  
"Don't let me fool you," Stephanie joked. "I'm just as spoiled as Stacy."  
  
"I'm not spoiled!" Stacy exclaimed from the doorway.  
  
"I'd rather spoiled than outright mean if I were you," Stephanie said, sending an icy glance in Stacy's direction. "Shane and I have seen how you treat Trish."  
  
"How I treat Trish?" Stacy asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Don't worry about it," Shane said. "Would you like to watch movies with us?"  
  
"No," Stacy said, flitting out of the room.  
  
"Dear God," Stephanie moaned. "Is she always like that?"  
  
"She already knows that she's beautiful," Trish said. "And she's only thirteen now. She knows she's going to be gorgeous when she is older. She thinks her beauty will give her everything she wants."  
  
"She's in for a tough lesson," Shane commented. "Enough of that. Lets watch something."  
  
Later that night, Trish fell asleep in the room that was hers and thought that for the first time in her life she had friends and they weren't going to treat her like her mother and Stacy always had. 


	2. Growing Up

Trish loved the feel of riding horses. She had started riding when she had started living with the McMahons. It had been nearly seven years.  
  
When she had first come to live with the McMahons, she had been a skinny girl with big blue eyes and a homely face. Her sister had never allowed her to be truly happy up to that point. Every time Trish would be on the verge of complete happiness, Stacy would come along and bring her crashing back to earth.  
  
But with the McMahons, everything had been different. Stephanie and Trish had instantly become the closest of friends. And Shane made sure Stacy didn't mistreat either girl.  
  
Trish frowned as she thought about Shane. He was twenty-three and he had just finished college. Stacy had gone to the same college for the past two years and when they had come home for the summer they seemed close.  
  
But Stacy was so wrapped up in impressing Shane that she didn't have any time to secretly torment Trish. It would be fine, if Trish didn't see the wanting for Stacy in Shane's eyes. In her heart she knew Shane could never be happy with someone as manipulating as Stacy.  
  
She sighed as she continued to ride her mare, Restless Waltz. Vince had given Trish a new horse every other year. All three horses had waltz in their name, because that was the dance Trish had learned with Shane when she was just eleven. Of course, everyone thought she just liked the word.  
  
"Okay girl," Trish said, slowing Restless Waltz to a stop. "I'm sorry for riding you so hard."  
  
Everyone had gone down to North Carolina for the summer, like they did every year. They stayed at the racing farm Vince's family had owned for generations. Trish was in the process of trying to talk Vince and Linda into letting her come and work on the farm instead of going to college. So far they had been reluctant. Stephanie assured her that they would eventually give in.  
  
Trish walked Restless Waltz over to the pond. She let the horse drink from the pond as she sat underneath a tree and rested.  
  
"Trish!" a voice heavy with a Southern accent called. Trish opened her eyes to see her friends Matt and Jeff Hardy walking their own horses to the water. Their land bordered the McMahon farm. The families had long ago decided to share the property.  
  
"Hey you guys," Trish said. Matt and Jeff came and sat next to her.  
  
"Where's Steph?" Matt asked. "You guys always ride together."  
  
"Stephanie is still up in Connecticut," Trish said. "Good to see you too Matt. She's coming tomorrow."  
  
Matt smiled with sheepish embarrassment. "Sorry. It's good to see you again. Are you going to be here for the whole summer?"  
  
"Yeah," Trish said happily. "No Europe this year thankfully."  
  
"Aw, you don't want to become a woman of the world?" Jeff asked.  
  
"This is all the world I need," Trish said.  
  
"I like it myself," Jeff said, looking over at Trish with his beautiful green eyes.  
  
Trish looked away. She had always thought of Jeff as a close friend, but he had been looking at her with rather open admiration. He was the same age as her and Stephanie. He was cute, but he had always been a little bit odd.  
  
"Have you decided where you want to go to college?" Matt asked, picking at blades of grass around his feet.  
  
"I don't want to go to college," Trish said. "I want to come work here."  
  
"You want to become a horse trainer?" Matt asked skeptically.  
  
"Yeah," Trish said. "If you can do it, I can too."  
  
"It's a lot of work," Matt said.  
  
"She can do it," Jeff said quietly. "I'd love to have you here all the time."  
  
"Thanks," Trish said shyly.  
  
"Is Stephanie going to move down here too?" Matt asked. Matt and Stephanie had dated for the past two summers. They would pick up their innocence romance every summer and then drop it as if it was nothing.  
  
"Probably not," Trish said. "She wants to go to Boston University, like Shane."  
  
"Oh," Matt said, trying not to be disappointed.  
  
Matt was a sweet boy, only two years older than Trish and Stephanie. But if he knew Stephanie away from North Carolina it would probably break his heart. Stephanie genuinely cared for Matt, but in Connecticut she was a popular girl. Her current boyfriend was having a graduation party later that night, which was why Stephanie was flying down after everyone else.  
  
"She will still come visit in the summers," Trish assured him.  
  
"Look who we have here," Stacy said sweetly. Trish tried not to cringe at the sound of her sister's voice.  
  
"Hey Jeff and Matt," Shane said, dismounting his own horse. He plopped on the ground and sat next to Trish. "Hey Trish."  
  
"Hi," Trish said, smiling adoringly at the man she had had a crush on for seven years. Stacy and Jeff each made faces that no one else noticed.  
  
"How are you guys doing?" Shane asked his neighbors.  
  
"Pretty good," Matt said. "Just talking to Trish about her plans to become a horse trainer."  
  
"So she won't have to show her face in public," Stacy scoffed. She immediately blushed when Shane looked at her with a reprimanding look.  
  
Trish looked down at her baggy jeans and flannel shirt. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail. She had never bothered much with make-up, because she always ended up looking like a mess.  
  
"I have to get going," Trish said, standing up quickly and walking toward her horse.  
  
"I'll ride back with you," Shane said, seeing the pained look in Trish's eyes before she had looked down to her lap.  
  
"Shane!" Stacy exclaimed. "We were going to go swimming."  
  
"You go," Shane said, grinning at Stacy. "I haven't seen Trish in months really. It will be nice to have a chance to talk to her."  
  
"Whatever," Stacy shrugged. "I'll talk Matt and Jeff into going for a swim."  
  
Shane leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. "Just behave. I'll see you tonight."  
  
"You can stay and swim," Trish said, mounting her horse.  
  
"I really do want to talk to you," Shane said.  
  
"Okay," Trish said, keeping her eyes forward as they pointed their horses toward the stables at a sauntering pace.  
  
"You're looking too skinny again," Shane said.  
  
"It was just swim season," Trish said. "I always slim way down during the season."  
  
"But you're practically skin and bones," Shane said. "Not that anyone could really tell below all of those baggy clothes you wear."  
  
"I'm fine Shane," Trish assured him.  
  
"If you say so," Shane shrugged. "I have some news too."  
  
"Okay," Trish said.  
  
"I'm going to take over the stables," Shane said. "Just the business side of it of course. I wouldn't be much of a trainer. But I'm moving down here and I'm going to take over. Dad's going to run the WWE."  
  
"That's great Shane," Trish said. "So do I come to you for a job as trainer?"  
  
"That's right," Shane said.  
  
"You won't make me go to college first, will you?" Trish asked.  
  
"I haven't decided yet," Shane said. "I have more news too."  
  
"What?" Trish asked.  
  
"Stacy and I are engaged," Shane said. "We're getting married in August."  
  
"Oh," Trish said, looking forward again. "That's great Shane."  
  
"I think so," Shane said. "I know you don't really like your sister too much, but she's not the witch she seems to be. She's really very nice."  
  
"It doesn't matter what I think about her Shane," Trish said. "I hope you two are happy."  
  
Trish was glad that they were at the stables. "I have to muck out Restless Waltz's stall."  
  
"You want some help?" Shane asked.  
  
"Nah," Trish said. "I like to have work to do."  
  
"Okay," Shane said.  
  
"Congratulations Shane," Trish said. "I hope you and Stacy are happy together." 


	3. Troubled Waters

Trish stood in the doorway of her bedroom for the summer. "I don't have to stay here."  
  
"You should," Shane insisted. "You deserve a bigger room than you normally get here. I am trying to convince you to stay on as a trainer."  
  
"Bribing me is not going to do any good," Trish said, setting her suitcase on the bed. Until Shane and Stacy had gotten married the previous summer, it had been Stacy's room.  
  
"Come on Trish," Shane said, his voice taking a whiny edge. "Just take the room."  
  
"If you don't," Stephanie said, coming into the room after depositing her stuff in her normal room and jumping on the queen bed. "I will."  
  
"Okay, I'll take it," Trish sighed.  
  
"Good," Shane said. "You two want to go for a ride before dinner?"  
  
"Shane!" Stacy exclaimed coming into the room. "I didn't hear you all come in. Hello Stephanie and Trish."  
  
"Hey," Stephanie said, smiling at her sister-in-law.  
  
Trish turned and was stunned to be wrapped in an embrace by her older sister. "Hi Stace."  
  
"It's so good to see you all," Stacy said. "I had no idea I would miss you all so much when you were more than a drive away."  
  
"Ride?" Stephanie asked her brother, knowing Trish wasn't comfortable with the show of affection from her sister.  
  
"Oh yeah," Shane said.  
  
"Lunch is ready for you guys," Stacy said. "I mean, you guys can go ride, but it is ready now."  
  
"That's fine," Trish said, stepping away from her sister. "Lets go ahead and eat."  
  
"Great!" Stacy said, beaming at her sister.  
  
Stacy once again shocked Trish by taking Trish's hand and walking with her down the hall and babbling happily. Stephanie and Shane looked after Trish and Stacy in surprise. "What the hell have you done to her Shane?"  
  
"I don't know," Shane said. "Stacy and I haven't been spending much time around each other actually."  
  
"You haven't been married a year yet," Stephanie admonished.  
  
"Yeah, well," Shane said, looking down at his feet. "I love it here and she hates it."  
  
"You know marriage is about sacrifices," Stephanie said with an air of maturity that Shane had to laugh at. "What?"  
  
"You act like you know," Shane said, laughter dancing in his eyes.  
  
"Well," Stephanie shrugged. "I'm convinced I'm a little bit more mature than you are anyways."  
  
"Thanks a lot," Shane said. "The thing is, Stacy is convinced that she can get me to do whatever the hell she wants me to do."  
  
"How does she presume to make you do things?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"By, well," Shane said uncomfortably. Stephanie looked at him expectantly. "Well, by using sex. She thinks by not having sex with me I will give in to whatever."  
  
"And she's mistaken?" Stephanie asked.  
  
"I'm not Dad," Shane said.  
  
"Hey," Stephanie said, lightly hitting Shane on his arm. "He's changed."  
  
"I know," Shane said, holding his hands up defensively. "I would just end this charade of a marriage now, but everyone loves her so much. I want to give us a chance."  
  
"I don't love her," Stephanie said.  
  
"You don't count," Shane teased.  
  
"Thanks," Stephanie said.  
  
"Lunch?" Shane asked.  
  
"Can't leave Trish with the shark," Stephanie said, shrugging her shoulders.  
  
*  
  
Trish felt the wind pull her hair back, tangling it in a mess. She didn't care. She had to get out of that house. Everything was so strange. Stacy was actually acting nice. For two weeks she had acted like she actually cared about Trish.  
  
She had no idea what was going on.  
  
And there was obvious tension between Stacy and Shane. Was Stacy using her as a tool against Shane? Everyone knew that Shane and Trish had always been close. He had taken her under his wing when she was ten and she had developed a major case of hero worship. Trish had been closer to Shane than Stacy since she had been ten. After eight years, it seemed that Stacy wanted to change that.  
  
Trish wanted to know what the hell was going on, especially before she decided whether or not to stay on at the farm as a trainer or to go to college.  
  
*  
  
Shane watched Trish ride away from the stables from his third story office. He had two offices. The third story one was the one he went to when was going to seriously get down to work. Or he was trying to avoid Stacy. Stacy hated the completely masculine feel of the upper office.  
  
Something had been bothering Trish since she and Stephanie had arrived a month earlier. And it was starting to show. She didn't want to show Stacy exactly how uncomfortable she was with her attempts at being sisterly, so she avoided contact with her. That meant she was avoiding meals. And she was so scatterbrained that she probably forgot to pick anything up period. That would explain why she was getting skinnier by the day.  
  
Every time he would try to talk to her about she would just say that swim season had just ended and she was always slimmer at the end of swim season. He couldn't just ignore it anymore.  
  
All of her life, Trish had always been overlooked. Mostly because Stacy was a luscious beauty that just seemed to call for attention. And she knew exactly what to say to make people like her. There were few people who actually disliked Stacy, Stephanie being one of them. But Shane was well aware that Trish had always lived in Stacy's shadow.  
  
He sat back in his chair and wondered if trying to convince her to come and work as a trainer for him would actually be a mistake. It would force her to be in constant contact with the sister that had caused her misery for so long. Of course, Stacy was being strangely sisterly of late.  
  
"I'm so damn selfish," Shane finally muttered to himself. He wanted to have Trish at his house. He wanted a friend who shared his love for horses. He wanted someone he could talk to.  
  
"Shane," Stacy said, peeking her head into the office.  
  
Shane whirled his chair around to see his wife step timidly into the office. "I want to hold a party for Trish."  
  
"What?" Shane asked.  
  
"I want to have a party for Trish," Stacy repeated. "She's just graduated and all."  
  
"No," Shane said. "We would invite all of the people we know and she would feel so uncomfortable. The only people around here that Trish knows are the Hardys."  
  
"I guess you're right," Stacy sighed.  
  
"What is with your sudden urge to be a good sister?" Shane asked.  
  
"I don't know," Stacy shrugged. "I mean, maybe it's because I finally realized that she's the only person on this earth that I know that I'm actually attached to by blood."  
  
"Okay," Shane said. "You hate it in here."  
  
"I hate a lot of things," Stacy shrugged. "I have to get over them."  
  
"What are you getting over?" Shane asked, thinking he saw a familiar gleam in Stacy's eye.  
  
"Well, it's not so bad down here in North Carolina," Stacy said, walking slowly over to Shane's chair. She stopped just in front of his chair and leaned over, touching her lips to his.  
  
"Really?" Shane asked, lazily looking up and down Stacy's body, noting that she wore a dress.  
  
"And you're here so things really could be worse," Stacy said. She draped her long legs over the armrests of Shane's chair and dropped herself over his lap.  
  
"Does this mean you've decided you want to be married again?" Shane asked. He was having a difficult time hiding that he was fully aroused.  
  
"Something like that," Stacy said, shrugging her shoulders. She reached down and unzipped his pants. He lifted her gently and maneuvered her so that she slid over him.  
  
"Oh God," Shane said. Stacy leaned over and kissed his mouth eagerly.  
  
"Shane," Stacy said, rocking over him.  
  
"It's been so long," Shane whispered into her mouth. He stood up and laid her back on his desk and drove into her.  
  
"Shane!" Stacy cried. He covered her mouth with his as he drove them both to a frenzied climax.  
  
"Far too long," Stacy said, running her hand down the side of his face.  
  
"What?" Shane asked. He realized what he and Stacy had just done and he suddenly felt strange. "Why now Stacy?"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Stacy asked. "I didn't plan this. There would have been a bed involved if I had planned it."  
  
"Okay," Shane said. He pulled up his zipper and helped Stacy fix her clothing. He leaned over and he kissed her again. "I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't be," Stacy said, placing her hands on his shoulders. "We both got carried away. It's nice actually. It feels like we're back at college almost."  
  
"Yeah," Shane said, grinning as he remembered the various times that they would experiment in his apartment just off-campus.  
  
"Maybe we can try that in a bed tonight?" Stacy asked, looking up into her husband's eyes.  
  
"I would like that," Shane said.  
  
Stacy smiled at Shane and kissed him one last time. She walked out of the office and ran down to her room to shower. She smiled to herself in the shower. Everything was going smoothly. 


	4. Hopes and Hurts

Trish sat in the rowboat on the pond, trailing her hand behind in the water. "Where's Jeff?"  
  
Matt smiled at his companion. "I don't know."  
  
"You guys used to be together all the time," Trish commented.  
  
"I know," Matt said. He shrugged as he rowed the boat around the fairly large pond. "I guess things just change."  
  
"Yeah," Trish said. "Like you and her highness."  
  
"Stephanie?" Matt asked. "Yeah, we decided we had outgrown each other last summer. When her boyfriend showed up to Shane's wedding."  
  
"Ah yes," Trish said. "They broke up a month later."  
  
"Does she break up with guys a lot?" Matt asked.  
  
"Yeah," Trish said.  
  
"Well, at least I know now," Matt said.  
  
"You weren't waiting for her were you?" Trish asked. Trish watched a pained expression flash across her friend's face. "Oh my God. You were."  
  
"Don't tell her," Matt said, looking down at his lap.  
  
"Okay," Trish agreed. "How often do you talk to Shane?"  
  
"Not too often," Matt said. "He seems busy all the time."  
  
"Busy avoiding my sister," Trish said, looking off at the trees that bordered the pond. "I know I never really got along with Stacy, but I had really hoped she would finally be happy."  
  
"What do you mean finally?" Matt asked. "Stacy always seemed perfectly content to be the crown princess."  
  
"Stephanie's the crown princess," Trish replied. "Stacy had never been really happy."  
  
"I don't understand," Matt said.  
  
"Well, when we were little she was convinced that Daddy loved me more than he loved her," Trish said. "That's ridiculous of course, Daddy loved us both. But he saw that my mother wasn't quite as affectionate with me as she was with Stacy. He overcompensated."  
  
"That's horrible," Matt said. "Your mother really treated you differently?"  
  
"Yeah," Trish shrugged. "It's in the past."  
  
"So why wasn't she happy when you moved in with the McMahons?" Matt asked.  
  
"Because of Shane," Trish sighed. "She always knew he had appointed himself as my protector. In Stacy's mind, she should be the sun and moon to everyone she comes into contact with."  
  
"I see," Matt said.  
  
"Shane says she hates living here," Trish said.  
  
"I always thought you and Stacy didn't really get along," Matt said. "You seem pretty concerned about her."  
  
"I may not like her very much," Trish said. "But I do love her."  
  
"Good for you," Matt said.  
  
"It's nice to get away for a bit," Trish said. "You and I never really spend much time together."  
  
"No, I guess we don't," Matt said. "But now I'm unattached over the summer and my brother has decided he didn't like the job of being your shadow so much."  
  
"Thank God," Trish said. "I like Jeff, don't get me wrong. But I just couldn't see him that way."  
  
"I know," Matt said. "I won't hold it against you."  
  
"Speak of the devil," Trish said as she shaded her eyes to look at Jeff as he emerged from a copse of trees. Her mouth dropped open as she saw Stacy follow him out.  
  
Matt turned to she was had caught Trish's attention. He saw Jeff pull Stacy against him for a quick, passionate kiss before they parted ways. "What the hell?"  
  
"I guess we know why Jeff isn't madly in love with me anymore," Trish said dryly.  
  
*  
  
Stacy hummed happily to herself as she dried herself off after a shower. She had had another rendezvous with Jeff Hardy. She had never imagined herself being attracted to him while they had grown up. But over the past year she had learned that he was an exciting lover. He made her time in North Carolina worthwhile.  
  
And she was carrying his child.  
  
She just hoped she could hide it until there was enough time for Shane to believe it was his. She had stopped having sex with him for four months until the previous week when she had attacked him in his office.  
  
Stacy briefly rested a hand over her stomach. A child. She knew she would be a great mother.  
  
*  
  
"Shane," Trish said.  
  
Shane looked up from the newspaper he was reading and smiled at Trish. "You're up with the sun today."  
  
"I always am," Trish shrugged. She couldn't look in his eyes. All she could think about was Stacy and Jeff. She had absolutely no idea how her sister could ever cheat on someone as wonderful as Shane.  
  
"Want some breakfast?" Shane asked, walking across the large kitchen to the refrigerator.  
  
"No thank you," Trish said.  
  
"Please eat," Shane said.  
  
Trish looked up at the pleading tone in Shane's voice. "Okay."  
  
Trish watched as Shane pulled out a couple of eggs and started to prepare them for her. He was so sweet and caring. And Stacy was cheating on him. Trish wanted so badly to tell Shane. It seemed like the right thing to do.  
  
But Stacy was her sister. She shook her head as she decided that she would talk to Stacy about what she had seen. She would make Stacy tell Shane.  
  
Shane looked over at Trish and was once again struck by how skinny and fragile she looked. He knew that she was pretty sturdy, as countless falls off of horses had shown. But she always seemed about one hurt away from shattering to pieces.  
  
"What?" Trish asked when their eyes caught.  
  
"Just thinking about whether or not I should ask you to be a trainer here," Shane said.  
  
"You've already asked," Trish said.  
  
"Maybe I should take it back," Shane said. "I don't know that it would be very good for your health."  
  
"Shane," Trish said. "I want to be here."  
  
"Why would you want to be stuck in a weird relationship with your sister?" Shane asked.  
  
"I love the horses," Trish said. "And I do love Stacy."  
  
"That doesn't seem like enough," Shane said.  
  
"I love you too," Trish said.  
  
"I know that," Shane said.  
  
"No Shane," Trish said. "I love you. I love being around you. You make every day a little better. I want to be around you even though I know you could never feel the same way."  
  
"Trish," Shane whispered.  
  
"Don't," Trish said as she turned to leave the kitchen. Shane reached out a hand and stopped her. He pulled her close and touched his lips to hers.  
  
He hadn't expected the electricity that jumped between them. The kiss progressively became more heated and passionate.  
  
"Oh my God," a voice said in horror from the doorway.  
  
Shane and Trish turned to see Stacy staring at them. "I think I'm going to be sick," Stacy said. "How long have you been fucking my sister Shane?"  
  
"Stacy, this is not what it looks like," Shane said, darting towards his wife.  
  
"It looks like you and Trish know each other a bit better than I thought you did," Stacy said. "You bastard!"  
  
Trish watched helplessly as Shane chased after Stacy. 


	5. Gone Too Far

"I want a divorce!"  
  
Trish had heard Shane's exclamation from her own bedroom. She jumped in surprise when the door slammed. She heard angry footsteps and moments later the front door slammed.  
  
Trish sat in the chair next to her window, in the darkness. She heard her door creak open, but she didn't turn. There was no use in turning.  
  
"You bitch," Stacy said vindictively from the doorway.  
  
"I'm a bitch?" Trish asked, looking at Stacy with disbelieving eyes.  
  
"I've been so nice to you this summer," Stacy said, walking toward her sister. Something gleamed in her eyes. "I was the best sister I could be. And this is how you repay me? You ruin my marriage?"  
  
"You were doing a fine job of that all by yourself," Trish muttered.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Stacy asked.  
  
"I saw you with Jeff," Trish said. "And I wanted to tell Shane, but I couldn't do that to you. I couldn't rat you out because you are my sister."  
  
"And because you are my sister, you decided to have an affair with him?" Stacy asked.  
  
"Shane and I aren't having an affair!" Trish exclaimed. "We kissed once and you saw it! You are the one having an affair."  
  
"Not with my sister's husband," Stacy said.  
  
"You should tell Shane," Trish said quietly. "Give him some time to cool down and when he comes back to fix everything, tell him."  
  
"He won't cool off," Stacy said. "Things aren't exactly great between me and my doting husband."  
  
"I'll leave," Trish said. "I'll go ahead and go to college. God, Stacy don't blame him for one kiss. He's so good for you."  
  
"He'll leave if I tell him about Jeff," Stacy said.  
  
"You have to tell him Stacy," Trish said. "If you don't I will. I can't keep this from him."  
  
"You're more loyal to Shane McMahon than you are to your own sister," Stacy said in disgust. She turned on her heel to leave the room. "You were never worth the effort."  
  
*  
  
Trish woke up hearing sirens. She hastily grabbed the robe she had dropped on the ground earlier and pulled it over her pajamas.  
  
"What's going on?" Trish asked when she ran into Stephanie in the hallway.  
  
"I don't know," Stephanie said, both walking toward the staircase. They both gasped in shock when they saw a body-bag being brought out of the master suite.  
  
"Oh my God," Trish gasped. She and Stephanie clung to each other as they stumbled their way downstairs to see Sheriff Kurt Angle questioning Shane.  
  
Trish felt as if she couldn't breathe. "It's not Stacy. Tell me it's not Stacy."  
  
Both men looked over suddenly at Stephanie and Trish. "Get her out of here," Kurt softly commanded to Stephanie.  
  
Stephanie nodded mutely as she turned and steered Trish to the kitchen. Stephanie pushed Trish into a chair. She grabbed a glass and filled it with milk. "Drink," Stephanie softly commanded.  
  
Trish looked up at her friend helplessly. Stephanie thought Trish had never looked so young, even after her parents had both died.  
  
"What the hell is all the noise about?" Matt Hardy asked as he came into the kitchen.  
  
"Not now," Stephanie said to Matt.  
  
"What happened?" Jeff asked, out of breath as he followed his brother into the kitchen. "Is everyone okay?"  
  
"No," Stephanie said solemnly. "Everything is not alright."  
  
"It's Stacy, isn't it?" Jeff asked, his voice suddenly turning shrill. "That bastard did something to Stacy. He found out the baby was mine and he hurt her!"  
  
"Who are you talking about?" Stephanie asked. "What baby?"  
  
"Stacy's baby, of course," Jeff said.  
  
"Stacy was pregnant?" Stephanie asked in shocked.  
  
"What the hell do you mean was?" Jeff asked. "She is pregnant."  
  
Trish burst into tears as Stephanie said, "Stacy is dead Jeff."  
  
"That bastard!" Jeff exclaimed.  
  
"Jeff!" Matt admonished as he moved around the kitchen pull Trish into his arms and hold her. Trish just stood in the circle of his arms and sobbed.  
  
"Trish?" Kurt asked, peeking his head into the kitchen. "Sweetie, I have to talk to you. Okay?"  
  
"Okay," Trish sniffed. "Can Stephanie come with me?"  
  
"If you would like," Kurt said.  
  
"Just a minute," Trish said. She leaned close to Matt and whispered, "Get Jeff out of here. I don't want him near Shane."  
  
"Sure sweetie," Matt said, hugging Trish for a moment.  
  
Stephanie held Trish's hand as they walked back to the room Kurt and other police officers were conducting interviews with the household staff.  
  
"Sorry about this Trish," Kurt said, "but I've got to cover every base."  
  
"It's okay Detective," Trish said.  
  
"We've known each other for years," Kurt said, smiling sadly at Trish. "You can call me Kurt."  
  
Trish nodded mutely as she sat across from him. Trish saw Shane standing near a window, looking out into the night.  
  
"When did you go to sleep Trish?" Kurt asked.  
  
"About ten," Trish said.  
  
"And what was the last time you saw your sister?" Kurt asked.  
  
"At about eight," Trish said.  
  
"And what were the circumstances of your meeting?" Kurt asked.  
  
"She was confronting me about something she had seen," Trish said. "I told her I had seen something too and she left. She was pretty angry."  
  
"Okay sweetie," Kurt said. "This is a murder investigation. I'm going to need you to be a bit more specific. What had Stacy seen?"  
  
"She saw Shane and I kissing," Trish said. "We were in the kitchen. It was the only time we had ever kissed. Stacy came in and just started yelling. After Shane left the house, she came to my room and accused me of trying to ruin her marriage."  
  
"And what had you seen?" Kurt asked.  
  
"I saw her and Jeff Hardy," Trish said. "They were having an affair. Jeff just admitted it to me."  
  
"Christ," Kurt moaned. "And how did you two part?"  
  
"She told me I wasn't worth the effort," Trish said, choking back tears.  
  
"Great sister," Stephanie muttered.  
  
"Who do you suspect?" Trish asked. "How did they do it?"  
  
"It looks like someone hit her upside the head with a fire poker," Kurt said. "And unfortunately, our main suspect is Shane."  
  
"Shane?" Stephanie asked in shock. She closed her eyes and looked over at her brother for a moment. "I have to go call Daddy. Damage control."  
  
"You know," Kurt said, once Stephanie was sufficiently far away. "Most sisters would go comfort their brother first."  
  
"He didn't do it," Trish said.  
  
"I want to believe that too," Kurt said.  
  
"He couldn't hurt a fly," Trish said.  
  
"He has a motive, Stacy was being unfaithful," Kurt said.  
  
"He didn't even know!" Trish exclaimed.  
  
"He's the one who found her body," Kurt continued.  
  
"She was in his room," Trish answered.  
  
"We're checking out his alibi," Kurt said.  
  
"You have to believe that he's innocent," Trish said.  
  
"Who did it then Trish?" Kurt asked. 


End file.
